Lords of Magic
by Sendo the Dragonlord
Summary: Seven warriors try to face the sorcerer Balkoth, the Dark God Golgoth, and their army of undead soldiers. Based on the Sierra game 'Lords of Magic'. More of a strategy game, but this was the only place I could put it. Chapter 2 completed.
1. Prologue

This story is based on the game "Lords of Magic" by Sierra. I do not own the game or any ideas that come directly from the game. I do own this story and the characters I will introduce. All other credit goes to Sierra.  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
My follower stands before my altar, readying himself to summon me. He does not know that I am already here, watching him. He does not know the true extent of my power. He thinks he can take my strength away from me and become the new Dark God.  
Foolish mortal. As soon as he wins Urak for me, I will kill him. He raises his hands and his voice calls for me.  
"Great Lord Gorgoth, I summon thee!"  
I hear these words and give myself physical form. I know that to him I only look like a face wreathed in shadows, and he thinks that soon he can overtake me. Such a fool. "Balkoth, my strong right hand, how fares my conquest of Urak?"  
He bows before me. He grovels in front of me, but I can see the defiance in his eyes. "Dark Lord, thine armies are almost ready for battle. Thy Bloodguard is ready to set out, and thy mages are making the Shadow grow in number. Soon we will set out and conquer the seven faiths, and Death shall rule over all!"  
Inwardly I seeth that he is telling me these lies. I had watched him learn from his generals not a moment ago that it would take months for them to get enough elves for the Bloodguard to set out. But I worry about another problem. "And the Altar of Sacrifice?"  
"It will soon be finished. Thousands will be sacrificed to give our mages power, and then they will be raised into skeletons, wraiths, vampires!"  
I noticed one thing had been missing from his speech. "What about the Lich?"  
He starts shaking visibly. Something is wrong. "We are still trying to gain the three artifacts. We have learned their locations at least. Another Lich who will not join our cause holds the Lich Cloak. The Soul Stealer is guarded in the Life Great Temple, the Golden Tree. And the Amulet of Poison is held by a former Bloodguard who had run from us and stolen the artifact. We will try to gain these ite-"  
I strike him with a jolt of black energy. He spasms and collapses onto the floor, screaming once. He twitches violently, a mixed look of ecstacy and pain crossing his face. I cut off the energy from him and he groans, slowly rising to his feet. I speak to him again. "I do not want to hear excuses or promises. I want either one of those artifacts or your head lying on the floor before me by the time that the Altar is finished!"  
He nods once, fearfully. "Yes, Great Lord." I destroy my physical form. I watch invisibly from the altar as he walks out of the temple, muttering under his breath. What a fool. 


	2. The Seven

Chapter 1-The Seven Masters  
  
  
Bear looked out through the night across the land. He sneered at the thought of other tribes fighting and ambushing each other. He turned from the view and walked back to his own tribe.  
He was in a terrible mood. He walked through the Barbarians that shrunk from him, pushing away those who didn't move fast enough and slaying one goblin. He moved to the tent next to his and barged in. "Cheetah, why aren't we closer to the Great Temple?!"  
The half-naked theif didn't bother to cover herself. She was used to him interrupting her at moments like this. "We are going as fast as we can, Cheif Bear, but there are children and old ones that need to be taken care of."  
He didn't like the answer. His response dripped sarcasm. "Oh, is that all? Well then, why don't we just go at a pace that works for them and arrive months after some other tribe?" His voice hardened. "Let the children ride with the warriors and kill any old ones that start falling behind. I want to reach the Pyramid in two fortnights, do you hear me?"  
She bowed slightly, emphasizing her bosom. "Yes, Cheif Bear. It will be as you say."  
He left the tent, leaving her to cover herself.  
  
A corsair ship sailed along the coast looking for a spot to land. One sailor came up behind the captain. "Captain Aphrodite, we are nearing Torrentt."  
The captain left off from watching the sea serpents in the open sea fighting and looked to the woman in front of her. "I know, Melusina. If you look to the coast, you can see the kraken escorts moving toward us."  
Melusina looked out into the night. Sure enough, two large objects were moving toward them. She started to turn back, but something caught her eye. She looked again and noticed bright lights on the top of the shapes. Fires! In the light of one, she could notice a large man dressed in red armor pointing at them with his sword. She called to the captain, "Those aren't Kraken! They're Fire Ferries!"  
A bright light shot from one of the ships and hit the manta carrying the wooden frame. It screamed and the ship bucked beneath her feet. "They've got a mage!"  
Aphrodite was already sterring the ship away from the ferries, but the wounded manta slowed. "Why by the waves of Synora did this have to happen when we were returning from spying on them?!" she swore.  
Another shot slammed into the wooden frame of the ship. The flames began to spread. Soon every sailor on the ship was trying to dodge the enemy fire and put out the flames. Another shot hit the mast and it began to fall.  
Melusina watched as it started leaning towards Aphrodite. "Move it! The mast is falling!"  
Aphrodite looked at her. Her face glowed eerily in the light of the fires as she said, "It's the unwritten rule of sailing. The captain always travels to Synora's kingdom with their ship."  
The mast came crashing down on her. Melusina had no time to greive. Another shot had hit the manta in the face. It started to sink as its eyes glazed over. She ran to the side of the ship and lauched into the air.  
Everything happened at once as she sailed through the air. A burst of light from the ferry. The wooden frame exploding in flame, then collapsing in on itself. The manta screamed feebily one more time, then sank to the bottom of the ocean, never to rise, carrying the crew of the corsair ship.  
Melusina looked at the two ferries, listening to the cries of victory, before heading towards land.  
  
"Good news, everyone! Two of our ferries just sank a corsair ship!"  
Everyone in the tavern cheered at the news. More than one soldier bought drinks for everyone. Even a dwarven theif did, and they were reputed to be especially stingy towards gold.  
Edygor went back to the bar for the seventh time. He tripped more than once and almost hit a table. He leered at the serving girl. "Hey, honey, can you get me another drink?" She ignored him. He asked more forcefully. "Can ya get me the damn drink, honey?"  
She looked at him disdainly. "Honey can get you a drink if she wants. If you want to talk to me, it's 'Hey, Miss.' Can you handle that?"  
"Why sure, honey. Now go get me that drink."  
She sighed and gave it to him. He barely made it back to the table, and then realized it was the wrong one. He started moving towards his own table. He tripped and the mug of beer flew through the air, shattering over a large soldier's head and drenching him.  
Edygor lurched to his feet and looked up into the angry man's face. "Why are you all wet? Is it hot outside or somethi-" The rest of the question was lost as the big soldier punched him in the face.  
He staggered, then came back, fists flying. The punch had completely sobered him. He dodged another swing and punched the other in the stomach. He followed with a quick uppercut to the jaw. The soldier grunted in pain as he staggered backwards, then steadied himself and drew his sword.  
Edygor could tell that the man was very drunk. He would probably try his best to kill him. The man charged at him, sword raised. He dodged and the sword cut into the table. He kicked the soldier in the face. The man flew backwards and smashed through a table. He fell to the floor unconcious.  
Edygor stood, breathing heavily. He calmed himself, ran a hand through his hair and walked back up to the bar. "Hey, honey. Can I have another drink?"  
  
The junior wizard ran up to Engbert. "Sir, I've found something that might help us learn that new spell!"  
The senior wizard looked back at him. "You mean that spell that can let you see farther? What was it called, 'Falcon's Eye'?"  
The junior nodded. "I found a volume with a weird code in it. It has one piece that I can understand. It tells of a wizard using it in the past."  
Engbert smiled. "Good job, Alisandre. Let me see this book."  
They walked across the mage library. Alisandre picked up the book and turned it to the right page. He handed it to Engbert, who stood studying it for some time. Finally, he looked up from the book. "This isn't the Falcon's Eye spell."  
Alisandre slumped into a chair. "I knew it wouldn't be it."  
Engbert continued. "This is something much more important. This says that it is possible for spirits of ancient knights to be resurrected. If we can find something else on this spell, we could finally have a good weapon against the Barbarians!"  
It took a moment for the full impact of what was said to strike Alisandre. He jumped out of the seat. "Then we can finally get rid of those marauders that keep on striking Symmett!"  
Engbert nodded, smiling at the young ones enthusiasm. "And once we do that, maybe we can have a lord again, and order will be restored, as the Triad would will it."  
Alisandre closed his eyes and looked to the sky. "Time, Energy, and Space, each in its proper place, each doing its proper task. And we shall do as they, under the Lord of Order."  
Engbert looked at him and smiled. "You will be a proper Archon soon. Now, lets get to the Mage Tower and find someone to help us.  
  
Acaikor stood in front of the throne, listening as King Atmos finished his orders. "Now, go to the Sky Tower and regain it from those marauders, or you will be executed."  
He bowed to the king and left the room. He left the palace and walked through the streets of Atmos. He was tired of this tyrant ruling the High Places. Naming himself king and even changing the name of the main city, Thond'r, to his own. /Soon,/ he thought, /I will force him off the throne and do a great thing for my people.  
He walked to the entrance of the Theives Guild. Two fairies blocked his path until they recognized him. He stormed into the center of the guild and announced, "By the order of King Atmos, I have been told to get the best thief and the three best fae slingers to accompany me to the Air Great Temple! These four, stand up and be recognized."  
Four fairies walked up and bowed before him. He gave papers to two of the slingers. "You, I want to go to the Mage Tower and tell the sorcerers to conjure up a will o'wisp and an air elemental. You, I want to go to the Barracks and get a storm warrior, three eagles, and three windriders. Hurry back so we can journey as fast as possible."  
The two departed and the three remaining went to the gates of Atmos. The sun rose over the city.  
  
Feriam walked away from the man he had just talked to, who remarked to his companion that halflings are almost good for nothing. He smiled as he counted how much gold the person HAD had in his purse. /Good for nothing except thievery./ he thought.  
He walked back through the crowd. He looked at all the carts in the market. He finally spent some of his new gold on food, and the rest for a new dagger.  
He walked through the streets, looking for someone else to steal from. /Noplace has more gold in it than Klay./ He started looking for dwarves, for they were said to hoard the gold that they own.  
Finally, he spotted one. He moved closer and noticed a large pouch hanging from his shoulder. He moved up next to him and tried to distract him. "Good day, kind sir. Is it too much to ask for a piece of gold?"  
The dwarf stopped and looked at him for a second. He started rooting through his pouch. Finally he brought out a gold coin. He handed it to Feriam. "Here you go, halfling. Last of my money. Use it wisely."  
Feriam looked in shock at the coin he held in his hand. He ran after the dwarf. He caught up and asked suspiciously, "Why are you doing this? Dwarves have a reputation of not giving a copper piece even though they might have tons of gold."  
The dwarf looked at him sideways. "Will be of better use to you than me. I have to visit the Forbidden Forest tomorrow, and I'm not sure that I'm coming back." He hurried away, stopping once to call, "By the way, my name is Torin."  
He nodded once, answering, "Feriam!" Then Torin was lost in the crowd.  
  
"Anymir? Anymir!"  
The elven enchantress looked around. Why couldn't she find him when she needed to? "ANYMIR!!"  
She found his steed at the top of a hill. The lizard adknowledged her with a flick of its tongue and pointed down the hill with his tail. Below, Anymir was praying to Llyanwylln. She called down to him again.  
Finally, he looked up to the enchantress above him. "Can't you wait until I'm finished before you need me?"  
She put her hands on her hips. "Then you should give me no reasons to need you. Like that brownie that you sent to me last week, for instance. I am sick and tired of that thing hanging around me and annoying me! If you don't send him away..."  
He sighed. "I'll get him out of there in a second, Elentari. Just let me finish."  
He completed his prayers and climbed up the hill. He petted the lizard's head then mounted it. He rode alongside Elentari, towards Thryv.  
The brownie spotted them coming and immediately headed for Elentari. She groaned as he got nearer. "Oh, no, here it comes again."  
He reached them and immediately started talking rapidly. "Hey, how are you doing? Where were you guys, leaving me alone like that? I was looking for you all over the place. You really have some nerve leaving me like that. If you keep that up, I might stop hanging around with you guys. Oh, what am I saying? I would never leave you guys. You're just too fun. Hey, wanna see a new trick I learned? It's really neat. Maybe I'll show you later. So how are you doing? Where were you guys, leav-OW!"  
He sat down hard, rubbing the spot where Anymir had just hit him over the head with his staff. Anymir dismounted and said, "Listen. I sent you to Elentari as a joke, OK? You don't have to keep on bothering her anymore. In fact, you should have stopped at the end of the first day."  
The brownie looked up at him. "Oh, the first day? I thought you meant the first fortnight. Boy, that's a really big lizard. How much does it weigh? Is it a boy or a girl? It's really big. I wonder how much it weighs?"  
Anymir asked, "How much do you weigh?"  
He replied, "Oh, about one stone. Why?"  
Anymir's eyes narrowed. "Well, it weighs about ten stones now, so I guess it will weigh about eleven stones in a second."  
The brownie's eyes widened. It managed a quick "Bye-bye" as it ran for its life.  
The two elves looked at each other for a second, then started laughing so hard that they could barely stand up.  
"Hahaha, you could see the moment that he got the message, hoohoo!  
"Heeheehee, did you see his eyes? They were, haha, as large as he was!"  
The sunset lit the sky with brilliant colors to match the friends' moods. 


	3. Chaos:The Ancient Pyramid

Chapter 2-Chaos:The Ancient Pyramid  
  
  
"Faster, faster!" Bear raged at the moving tribe. He rode at the back, killing anyone who struggled too far behind. A line of goblins walked next to his mount, a large white tiger, helping in case a straggler fell behind too far from him.  
The tribe moved across the desolate hills toward the Temple in the distance. Bear, at the sight of the large pyramid, ordered the group to stop and rest. He called to a woman helping a child off a horse. "Bloodsinger, get over here! And bring Cheetah with you!"  
The shaman lifted the boy off of the back of the horse and ran over to her leader, alongside the theif. "Is there anything that you'd like us to do, Great Cheiftain?"  
He pointed to the tribe, moving towards the temple, then at Cheetah. "We are close, but you still have failed, theif." She grimaced slightly at the title. She preferred to be known as a huntress. "What was our deal? Oh, yes. To reach the temple in two fortnights, or your head on the ground in front of me."  
He grinned. "Your time is up, theif." He pulled out his sword and lunged. She moved, but not quick enough. He put the sword back in its sheath, remarking sadly. "Well, you were lucky this time. I guess I will just have to live with that ear instead of your head. Anyways, I might still have need of you."  
She tore a piece of her fur dress and pressed it to the side of her head. She knew it was luck, not speed, that had saved her that time.  
He turned to Bloodsinger. "Now, it is your turn. Is there anything that you can use to speed us up?"  
She nodded. "Wanderlust," she mumbled.  
"Then use it and let's go."  
She turned towards the group. She made a few passes and muttered under her breath. Immediately, a change was noticable. People got to their feet and started looking at the temple.  
Bear yelled, "Okay, your break's over! Now let's go!"  
The tribe moved with a new will.  
  
"Oof." Geagon dropped to his knees. Tears of pain ran down his face as he rubbed the smarting leg. "Watch it, Zywark. It's still tender there."  
Zywark smiled as he leaned on the practice staff. "Well, it should. You got such a beating from that guy in the tavern. Three cracked ribs and a sprained leg, not to mention that you were almost comatose for two days."  
Geagon grimaced. "Boy, I wish I could get my hands on him. I'd slice him to bits and feed him to the dogs. I'd hang him, then burn the tree he hung from."  
"Oh, come on. You deserved it, attacking him like that. And you should have seen the way he asked for another drink when you went down. The serving lady almost went down and hugged him."  
Geagon clenched his fists. "I'd love to hug him around his neck. Now, come on and fight."  
He took a blow to the other leg and one to the head. He sat down hard. He happened to glance behind his friend. He turned and looked again. He grinned. "Well, look who's here."  
Edygor went up to the open door of the barracks. Geagon greeted him, wearing the same grin. "What a surprise. We were just talking about you."  
Edygor gave a small squeak of fear as he was pulled in. The door shut behind him.  
  
/Damn idiot./ Cheetah winced as she pressed the blood-soaked fur to the side of her ear. /If he keeps on like this, he'll soon get himself killed. There are things a lot more powerful than him. I'd like to see him face off with a necromancer. Another dead fool for their army./  
The temple loomed over them as they reached the huge steps leading to the entrance. She heard Bear yelling orders to the tribe, who were becoming fatigued again.  
"Okay. Everyone who is not a warrior of some kind, stay down here. Bloodsinger, you stay with them and protect them if someone tries to attack. It's no good being the cheiftain if I have no followers. Now, goblins, ogres, riders, beserkers, and raiders in the first row, led by me. Cheetah, you'll take the shamen, hunters, and huntresses, and stickthrowers after me. We'll win back that temple from Balkoth's troops this way."  
Slowly, they made their way up to the top level. As they reached the last stair, they found that they were almost too late.  
  
"Stealing gold, eh?"  
Feriam looked in shock at the large muscular fist that held his own. "Uh, no, sir. The drawstring to your purse was a little loose, so I was tightening it for you."  
The dwarf stared at him for a second before replying, "That was the worst excuse I've ever heard. Of course, if you owned up to it, you would have had a smaller punishment..."  
Feriam sighed. "Okay. I admit it. I'm sorry."  
The dwarf grinned. "...or you would have given yourself up without a chance of getting out of it."  
Feriam's eyes widened. "You liar! You cheat! I should..."  
"Do what, halfling? Remember, you're mine now. Let's see, should I give you up and lock you away? or maybe give you to the mages to practice spells on? I've got it. You're coming with me to the Forbidden Forest."  
"Oh, no. No way. Give me to the mages or the jailers, but I'm not going to the Forest. You can forget it."  
The dwarf continued to drag him to the exit of the city. "Well, maybe you won't try to steal from a dwarf again."  
Feriam continued complaining as he tried to pull the other way. "Listen. I don't deserve this treatment. Lock me away, drown me, give me to the storm warriors, the necromancers, or anything! Not the Forest, though! Torture me or something, burn me, cut my leg off-"  
He left Klay, slung over the dwarf's shoulder, unconcious.  
  
Another tribe was already at the door to the temple. Bear called out to them. The whole group turned around and stared at them. A large warrior pushed through the crowd, riding a yellow tiger almost as large as his. "What do you want with Helsaf, Lord of the Barbarians?"  
Bear laughed. "'Lord of the Barbarians'? I don't think so. It looks like you haven't even rid the temple of those vermin yet. Now step aside and let the real warrior through."  
Helsaf's eyes narrowed. "'Vermin'? Those things are a lot stronger than vermin. They've got a full-fledged dark warrior in there, plus almost a score of zombies and twoscore skeletons. Nothing that you can handle. So if you'll leave us alone, we'll go in there and take what's rightfully ours."  
"You mean the artifact? That is rightfully mine, fool."  
Helsaf's tiger lunged as its rider pulled out a large axe. Bear's own tiger reared, taking the force of the blow and causing both warriors to fall from their mounts. A short scuffle and the white tiger tore the throat from the other and sat licking its wounds.  
The two warriors struck at each other, neither scoring. They were equally matched in strength and skill. Soon Bear began to lose ground. Both tribes watched as Helsaf struck blow after blow, but still not scoring. Soon they came to the top of the stairs. Helsaf used his axehead to catch Bear's sword and force him back to the edge.  
He grinned. "Well, warrior. I guess I win. Your tribe, your steed, the temple, the artifact, the kingdom, everything is mine. Including your life."  
Bear grinned back. "Hope you enjoyed it while you had it." He dropped and pulled on the sword. Helsaf tripped over him and fell, head first, onto the stairs. A large crack was audible as his neck snapped, and his corpse rolled down the stairs to the ground below.  
Bear looked back for a second, then towards both tribes. "Well, this will make it easier. All who are not warriors, go down the steps toward my tribe. All warriors, join the ranks of my group. Anyone who disobeys, joins their leader at the bottom of the temple."  
He climbed back onto his tiger. "Now, I want all warriors to finish the skeletons first. All mages, finish the zombies. I will grab the artifact. The dark warrior is mine. Now move out!"  
They entered the temple.  
  
/Well, another tribe coming to regain their precious temple, so they can worship their fake god, Thrith./ Drondar looked towards his undead troops. Fifteen zombies, thirty-eight skeletons, and three wraiths waiting in the shadows.  
The foolish, mortal Barbarians entered the main chamber. Such pitiful strength these humans have. They might have had enough to beat them if he didn't have those hidden wraiths. "So, human, what is it that you want?"  
"My name isn't Human. That's his name." The mortal pointed to another rider. "I am Bear. If you want to live, take your forces and leave my lands. Now."  
He raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think you are, human, to order me around like that? Me and my troops are quite happy in here, thank you."  
The human called Bear /Why do the Barbarians name themselves after other animals? It's so confusing./ started to get angry. "You mock me? I'll see if you can do the same with your tongue split in two."  
He himself started to get angry. "Don't threaten me. It's not good for your health. Or the health of all of your troops. In fact, you may not have any health anymore if you do so again."  
"What can you do? A bunch of piles of bones, some rotting bodies, and an elf dressed in armor riding an oversized iguana."  
He smiled evilly. "You forgot the moving shadows."  
The wraiths moved out of the dark, three dark shapes only distinguished by their yellow eyes. They started flinging balls of dark magic at the back ranks. Their mages started to counteract the attacks, but not until some hunters and a shaman were felled.  
The skeletons and zombies attacked, holding the Babarian troops back. Soon, the whole Barbarian army was surrounded by undead troops. Drondor laughed. "See, you mortals never had a chance." He stopped, noticing something wrong. He looked around. "Where is that warrior that rode on the tiger?"  
"Behind you, shithead." He turned around, just to see the swordblade arcing toward him.  
  
The dark elf's head fell to the ground, followed a fraction later by the body. The undead troops, who were bound to their leader magically, instantly fell. The zombies collapsed as the skeletons turned to dust. The wraiths shreiked as they were torn apart and destroyed.  
Bear ignored the huge group waiting for him and moved up to the altar in the center of the room. He took a large axe from the stone table. He turned and started to walk towards the group. Together, they walked out of the temple and to the tribe waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. Stepping over Helsaf's body, he moved to the center of the tribe. He held up the artifact. "Behold, the Axe of Chaos! Now it is proven that I am the Lord of the Barbarians!"  
He waiting for the cheering and applause to die down. He signalled to a small band of hunters and huntresses. They kneeled before him. "I want all of you to find the other tribes. Tell them that Lord Bear has the artifact and has freed the Great Temple. Tell them that they are welcome to live in the city that will be built a league south from the Temple. My stronghold, the new city of D'iskordt!"  
Amid the wild reaction to this good news, the group sped off into the wilderness. 


End file.
